Based on drawings made in the field, Web Gilbert’s (1867-1925) The bomber c.1915-21 depicts a First World War figure of a grenade-throwing soldier. The swinging leverage of the soldier’s outstretched arms practically rotates above the power and stability of his climbing stride. With this strong and balanced stance, Gilbert at once captures the athleticism and bravery of his subject.

RELATED WORKS IN THE COLLECTION: ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, the soldiers in those forces became known as ANZACs. Anzac Day is a commemoration of the anniversary of the landing of those troops at Gallipoli, Turkey on 25 April in 1915 / 11 November is Remembrance Day, the memorial day observed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month since the end of the First World War in 1918 to honour those who have died in the line of duty.

Web Gilbert ‘The bomber’

Gilbert trained as an evening student at the National Gallery School, Melbourne, under Fredrick McCubbin and Bernard Hall. By day he was a pastry cook, becoming a leading chef before establishing his own full-time studio and foundry in Fitzroy in 1908.

Late in 1917 Gilbert joined the Australian Imperial Force as a sculptor in the War Records Section, and after the war travelled throughout France gathering information to make accurate models of the battlegrounds, now in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. He completed several significant First World War memorial commissions, some on a massive scale, both overseas and in Australia, including those at Malvern, Parkville, Shepparton, the University of Melbourne in Victoria, and at Broken Hill in New South Wales.

Web Gilbert ‘The bomber’

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